Fugue
by Encendrel
Summary: There was such a thing as a happy ending, of course. But when all they see is the future, how can they look to the past? It was but the reality of the world that no one remembers the record keepers. I really don't know how to tag this...


**I need to try more depressing themes once in a while, so... Might not be as good as I hoped.**

 **I don't own Kagerou Daze.**

* * *

 _Honestly, I feel as though if I were to die..._

* * *

He wasn't exactly sure when this phenomena began to occur. The ten of them had assembled one more time, and dissipated, headed towards the future.

But for him, old habits seemed to die hard. Falling back into the shadows, he 'chased a future', the generic one he had imagined himself in years earlier.

The phenomena in question?

"...Sorry, do I know you?"

Shintaro blinked, swiping through his phone. He'd just now remembered that he'd wanted to check on his sister. This wasn't as hard as one would thing (as she was an idol) seeing as she had a private address and a public one.

"No, perhaps not. I'm just... looking for something, I suppose."

His generic and bland tone never inspired any impressions. Not the arrogant tone of his youth, nor the pathetic NEET he had become long before.

"...Ah, I see. Hey, can you keep the fact I'm here a secret? I..."

He chuckled slightly, despite the sting of loneliness he tried hard to ignore.

The biggest problem was that he succeeded.

"I'll remember that."

* * *

 **YOUNG GENIUS CREATES REVOLUTIONARY LIFE-EXTENSION MEDICINE**

 **"It's nothing special," Dr. Kisaragi says. "I don't have any reason to take it myself, to be honest."**

 **The 25 year old biomedical engineer (...)**

* * *

"Um, excuse me, sir?" Shintaro turns, his eyes leaving the newspaper. A blonde-eyes camera man is frowning at him, but not in a severe manner. "You're in the way of my shot. Could you, um..."

"Right." He steps to the side, folding up the newspaper.

"Oi, Kano. Did you find what you wanted?"

A voice from someone who hadn't caught his eye earlier. The once-leader of his old group, Kido Tsubomi.

He ducks, pulling a red hood over his head. He can still feel a frowning gaze, as if they're somehow discomfited by his presence.

All the reason to leave faster, he supposes.

"Hey! Wait up, mister!

He turns to face the blonde. He tilts his head, silently. He's not in the mood for words-actually, he hasn't ever been in that kind of mood.

"Um... Sorry, I thought I recognized you from somewhere."

He smiles slightly, but shakes his head. "Are you sure you don't have me mistaken for someone else?"

* * *

 **"Naturally, you'd still meet your end. People keep running forward, though, and maybe they think that death can't catch up."**

* * *

"And today, a lecture from the esteemed Dr. Kisaragi!"

This catches Seto's attention, perking up despite the boring lecture. A man steps up the the podium, with generic black hair and a generic dead stare.

"Today, I'm here to discuss medical ethics."

For a moment, the famous figure seems to stare up at him, and Seto feels as if he can see right through everything the man has ever been.

...And then it stops.

* * *

 **"To be honest, I don't feel like many people are recognizable enough to justify it. Everyone has their own time to shine, with no need to overstay their welcome." -Kisaragi Shintaro says this in response to the possibilities suggested for use of his miracle drug.**

* * *

"No, I feel like I really got mixed up here."

He sighs, not wanting to bother the peaceful atmosphere of the two younger kids. Hibiya narrows his eyes at the leaving red-hooded man, but shrugs as he loses focus.

* * *

 **"Eh? My family? They're just people, you know."**

* * *

"Hey, Haruka." The 27-year old looks up from his sandwich to look at Takane. "Doesn't this 'genius doctor' guy seem a little... familiar to you?"

At first, Haruka thought it might have just been Takane's ego being put into play. He then looked at the article.

A kind of bland guy. Described to have a piercing stare and an even, neutral tone. Black hair, 25... It was actually rather striking for some reason he couldn't put his finger on.

He snaps his fingers. "Oh, wasn't there... Um, I think it might have had something to do with Ayano..."

* * *

 **"It's like a fugue, I guess. Both kinds. The melody easily disappears, fleeting at the tip of your mind. Identity doesn't matter to me, a single piece of clockwork."**

* * *

Ayano heard a knock at her door. She sighed and stood up, brushing her hair. Honestly, it was her day off and she was constantly getting distracted!

She opened it, and an unassuming young man was standing at the door.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for someone."

...She didn't know how she would help a random stranger find someone, but she might as well try. Oh, the weather outside was nice too. It was hot, but a breeze seemed to blow away the haze.

"U-um, sure! Who are you looking for?"

She looks at his face and is rather surprised. It's some mix of self-depreciation, tiredness, and... loneliness?

"Someone named, um... Shintaro Kisaragi?"

For some reason, the name seriously upsets her. She begins to frown, as if there was something really important that she couldn't have possibly missed, yet it flew right past her. Her inner frustration must have shown, though.

"Ah, I see that you probably don't know him. Thanks, anyways."

As the door shuts, it's as if the breeze has flown inside for a moment.

"...Shintaro-kun?"

* * *

 **"Really, I think that I'm kind of transparent. I've gone for a long time without really making myself known as a 'person, but rather as a figure. And the thing about figures is..."**

* * *

Mary trembles as she unfurls a note. She was drinking tea at Seto's house, reading the newspaper out of curiosity. She'd wondered where all the others had went, but only temporarily. Now was now and then was then.

Until she'd reached an article about a famous researcher. And now, a note from the same person.

It's short, but not shockingly so given the writer.

 _I'm sorry. They won't remember me, but maybe you can remember them._

 _-Shintaro_

She reads the date on the article. Hm, it's quite old, Better grab a newer one.

What she turned to see was...

* * *

 **"FAMOUS RESEARCHER FOUND DEAD, PERHAPS SUICIDE?**

 **Biomedical engineer Kisaragi Shintaro had been found mangled at (...)"**

* * *

 _I'd only be replaced._

* * *

 **And cut.**

 **If you were wondering, this kind of implies that Shintaro has 'moved on' after Ayano's death and become an 'ordinary person' following the same values as his younger self had.**

 **So, not quite a recipe for success. But I had to write it. The phenomena is that no one can exactly remember Shintaro, the power of his eyes backfiring on him as he can remember everyone but no one can remember him... execpt for Mary (who gave him the power) and ostensibly Ayano (who was in the daze).**


End file.
